Friday, February 18, 2005

Closin' Time

Svrluga profilesChad Cordero, the presumptive closer. Cordero heads what should be a very strong, deep bullpen. There are enough arms in there that, if someone pulls a Biddle, there'll be someone else capable of filling his role. Just 22, Cordero has plenty of potential.

"I know I was young when I came up," Cordero said. "And I learned. It's a lot harder up here. The hitters, you make one mistake, they'll make you pay, whereas in college, you can throw a fastball right down the middle, and they might swing through it. You do that here, chances are it's going to get hit hard."

"He'd become a different person," said George Horton, the coach at Cal State-Fullerton. "He had a different makeup. I don't want to exaggerate it, but I'd say it all the time. He'd get that adrenaline rush, and it's like he went from Clark Kent to Superman. He'd take the glasses off, and he'd just take over."